Optimo Shutter Repair
by Michael Roth
The Optimo shutter is a pneumatic shutter designed by Wollensak in 1909 and was sold until about
1930. In Europe it was sold as the Velosto shutter. It is a high-end shutter with speeds from 1/300 to 1
second plus B and T. For a while it was the fastest leaf shutter on the market, even faster than the
famous Compound and Compur shutters at that time.
This particular shutter had a faulty diaphragm blade. I found the helpful booklet “Photographic InterLens Shutters” from 1917 on the web to get started. Fixing the diaphragm blade requires a complete
disassembly of the shutter. The following pictures show a step-by-step disassembly and can be used in
reverse to put it all together again. Make sure you arrange all the parts in the order of disassembly so it
is easier to find the right parts during reassembly.
Needless to say, this should only be tried by technically savvy people experienced in camera
repairs. If you have never done something like this before and don't want to risk messing things
up you should find a professional repair service.
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Step 1:
The first challenge is taking off the faceplate since there are no screws involved. To do this locate a
little lever at the right end of the slot for the aperture lever (see red arrow and next picture).
© Copyright by Michael Roth. Non-commercial use is permitted.
Step 2:
The red arrow points to where the lever is. The lever needs to be pushed to the right. A small micro
screwdriver works well for this. Then a little twist and the faceplate comes off.
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© Copyright by Michael Roth. Non-commercial use is permitted.
Step 3:
The next plate comes off easily.
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© Copyright by Michael Roth. Non-commercial use is permitted.
Step 4:
Now remove the four screws and take off the cover plate to reveal the guts of the shutter.
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© Copyright by Michael Roth. Non-commercial use is permitted.
Step 5:
The following pictures show step-by-step which parts and associated springs are removed. I don't know
all the names of the different parts, so the pictures will be the main guide. We start with the two parts
indicated by the arrows, including the spring. Make sure the spring does not fly away while you take it
off!
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© Copyright by Michael Roth. Non-commercial use is permitted.
Step 6:
This part and the spring come off next.
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© Copyright by Michael Roth. Non-commercial use is permitted.
Step 7:
This assembly indicated by the arrow and the associated spring come off – this is a large spring that has
quite a bit of tension!
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© Copyright by Michael Roth. Non-commercial use is permitted.
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